Anyone will be able to travel visa-free to Brazil during the games. Sure Brazil was never a target of terrorism but there will be athletes, tourists and delegates from countries targeted by ISIS. This is so reckless and disrespectful on their part as a host nation.

The Olympic Committee is interested in giving a chance to non-traditional nations, as long as they can come up with the money and make a plausible case for being able to host the events. Rio is about the only city in South America that could make a winning bid.

I've been to the Summer Games six times (Rio will be my seventh) and for the most part they have definitely not been shitholes - Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing. Well OK, Atlanta kinda sucked, mostly due to the bomb that went off in Centennial Park on the day I arrived. I skipped London because they set their ticket prices way too high.

Yes, the sailing venue in Rio is horribly polluted, but at least they aren't hosting swimming events there. I think the biggest problem will be transportation - getting people to and from the events. I don't see that they have a viable plan for that. But by and large I'm expecting it to be a great time.

But Bon Pan is largely right - the world is becoming a shithole. So many places that used to be clean are now filthy; so many places that used to be safe for travelers are now dangerous. And many of the places that are still nice are overdeveloped, overcrowded with tourists, and ridiculously expensive.

pellaz saidremember Sochi?the Olympics always strive to locate their games in a 3rd world hell

Also, the Anglo-Saxon media does a great job of exaggerating preparation problems when non-Anglo countries are about to host a major event, and many of these countries don't have the PR tradition that Anglo countries do, so they don't fight back.

Let's face it, in the grand scheme of life winning an olympic medal doesn't really do that much for you unless your goal is to become a college coach for your sport (of which there aren't many). But TV has made the olympics look like something that's monumentally important.

mindgarden saidIt's not exaggeration. People have been getting sick in the test races. One person even had to have infected tissue surgically removed.

Sure, but this is only one venue, and preparation/hosting problems plague Anglo countries too. We always seem to forget about the bomb that went off in Atlanta. But when a non-Anglo and non-Teutonic country hosts an Olympics or World Cup, forget about it.

Lumpyoatmeal saidLet's face it, in the grand scheme of life winning an olympic medal doesn't really do that much for you unless your goal is to become a college coach for your sport (of which there aren't many). But TV has made the olympics look like something that's monumentally important.

Lumpyoatmeal saidLet's face it, in the grand scheme of life winning an olympic medal doesn't really do that much for you unless your goal is to become a college coach for your sport (of which there aren't many). But TV has made the olympics look like something that's monumentally important.

American TV distorts the whole thing into something really sickening and grotesque. It's supposed to be about meeting people from other countries and cultures.

A few weeks before the Athens games, I happened to meet the young lady who went on to win the gold in the Shot Put. I looked her up on line, and there is nothing... just her name. No picture, no bio. Apparently she went home and got on with her life. Maybe?

The Olympic sailing is all about dinghies. I'm not sure how that translates to anything after college except weekend fun. Although, I've met a couple of guys who went on to crew on professional yacht races. This is a little silly (well, not sillier than football or baseball) but it it basically makes you a leisure-time buddy of some billionaire. Turns out to be a direct path from summer-time fun-buddy to corporate management. $$$

Compare the time spent being a world class gymnast versus being a doctor, lawyer, computer engineer, etc. It's basically the same as my rant about professional sports, except there a few, but very few, make it to the big bucks.

My attitude is that you should do something with your life that will make you a productive member of society.